Music fans often remember the first album they bought or the first concert they attended as a sentimental milestone, whether it reminds them of their first taste of freedom in adolescence or of a particularly nostalgic period of their lives.
In the era of digital downloads, the idea of the album has struggled against the simplicity of the single, but several Black Hills music aficionados have stories of first records and concerts that sparked a lifelong love of rock ’n’ roll.
‘Hotbed of Heart fever’
“Harper Valley PTA” was a big hit for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, so I think that’s the year she played the Central States Fair. I don’t remember anything about the show, but I do remember standing in line to get an autographed picture, which still resides in my memorabilia collection. My first real concert, i.e. no parents, was Heart on June 23, 1977. (My first concert should have been Elvis two days earlier, but at that time in my life he wasn’t relevant. And tickets were $15 compared to the $6 for Heart.) Heart’s “Little Queen” album had been released that spring, and Rapid City was a hotbed of Heart fever. It didn’t hurt that the Wilson sisters not only rocked, but also looked great. The rush and energy of what was happening on stage has kept me going to concerts for the past 33 years — well over 200 major events and as many club and free festival shows.
We always had records around the house — Elvis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison plus lots of 45s. The first album I remember buying on my own was “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon” by Paul Simon. On eight-track.
I played it so much that I had to repair the tape splice several times in college. Over the years, I have gone back to that album often, now of course on CD, for solace, much like a teddy bear to a small child. There is something about the coolness of Simon’s singing and the New Orleans vibe that takes me away from anything else that is happening. I have owned thousands of albums in my life and listened to thousands more, but this first album still is in my all time top 10.
I hope there are a few readers out there that experienced their first album purchase from me when I owned Sound Bytes, and that they, too, found a lasting bond with that collection of songs.
—Tom Anderson
Sammy Davis Jr.
Somewhere in the storage trunk that contains my memorabilia from 55 years ago is an autograph from Sammy Davis Jr. I remember this as my first concert of any famous personality. I was 14 years old when Sammy Davis Jr. was performing with the Will Masten Trio. I believe they were his uncles, or one of them was, but I am not certain about that. What I am certain about is that I found out what a fantastic entertainer Sammy was!
The concert was at the old Coliseum in downtown Sioux Falls. Unfortunately, the sound system had totally quit working about halfway through the show that night, and although they were unable to fix it, the show continued on. Sammy sang and danced his heart out, and the crowd loved it!
After the show, we four girls waited outside to talk to him. He was very young then, too, but had already had a big hit with his “That Old Black Magic” recording in 1953 or 1954. I remember him being so concerned about the sound going out and if we were able to hear them. We assured him that the concert was fantastic anyway, and we were thrilled to be talking to him! What we also took home from that concert was the lesson of how “the show must go on” and that things don’t always go the way it was planned, but we have to do the best we can with what we have.
We continued to enjoy Sammy’s work on through the 1960s and 1970s as he became famous in movies and television. The last time I saw his show was in 1984 at Harrah’s, Lake Tahoe, Nev. My new husband and I were celebrating our wedding evening and had a table next to the stage. It was a thrill to be that close as he performed his fabulous song and dance routines to “Mr. Bojangles,” “Candy Man” and “What Kind of Fool Am I.”
—Deanna Peck
‘Tapestry’
The first album I owned was Carole King, “Tapestry.” I still listen to it today. The first three songs told the story of my life at the time. First, “I Feel the Earth Move” related to a high school sweetheart. I thought I was madly in love during my sophomore year of high school. And he made the earth move. The second song was “So Far Away.” This same boyfriend went to visit his sister out of town for about a month and was “so far away.” After he returned, we broke up. The third song was “It’s Too Late.” Carole King seldom performs in concert, but I recently saw her in concert with James Taylor. It was wonderful to hear her sing all her great songs and sound wonderful after all these years. And James Taylor was awesome, too.
—Mary K. Roth
Kid Rock
My first concert was this year at the Buffalo Chip seeing Kid Rock. I, being a mother of two small children and 38 years of age, haven’t been to any such thing. I never took the time away from my kids to do so. We arranged for a sitter, and for my second date in years, I was headed to see Kid Rock. How excited I was. We had a great time until we got separated and finally found each other 30 minutes later. However, what a great memory to see Kid Rock and visit Sturgis and the Buffalo Chip all in one night. Hopefully, I will go back next year for my second concert.
—Candy Kott
Black Sabbath
While it wasn’t my first album, I remember the first album that shaped my musical tastes. While stationed in Vietnam, where a lot of people put together great stereo systems due to the low prices, I went to the recording room and heard someone playing Black Sabbath “Paranoid.” I said, “What is that?” and proceeded to find all of the heavy metal rock ’n’ roll that they had in the room. It changed all of my musical tastes, and I still love that style of music played loud.
—Frank Marohn
Late ’70s concerts
Growing up in Philip, the only place that sold a few albums was the appliance store, but I did find a couple of Beatles and Rolling Stones albums to play on my small turntable. I also remember traveling to Rapid City to see several memorable concerts in the late ’70s, including Heart, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Kiss. Since I’d broken my foot just days before the Kiss concert and was in a cast with crutches, this one stands out the most since I was crushed to the floor trying to get in the doors, but luckily escaped further injury and enjoyed the show from our nosebleed balcony seats, which was all we could afford on our meager after-school earnings.
—Kathy McDaniel
Fair hair bands
My older sister had the misfortune to get stuck dragging me, at 10 years old, to HER first concert at age 14. The concert was at the Central States Fairgrounds, and artists performing were Poison and Ratt. It was an amazing experience, introducing new words into my vocabulary and showing me a world I never knew existed. I’m still a big fan of live music and can’t resist seeing my favorite artists if given half a chance to. My life changed the day I saw that show, and music became an ever-increasing passion as I grew older. While far from musically gifted myself, a day without music is a day that might as well not exist in my world.
—Dave Kxxxxx
‘Hound Dog’
In 1954, my first “record” was Elvis Presley’s “You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog.” After so many years in school with good grammar and spelling, here was a sentence with poor grammar. And it was a hit. So popular! I purchased the record for 69 cents on a 45 rpm, small plastic record. I enjoyed the drum beat and enjoyed dancing to “Hound Dog.”
The first Broadway show I saw was “South Pacific” with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza. The ticket cost $4 in the first six rows. I have seen most of the popular Broadway shows for little money. The first New York Philharmonic concert was a matinee with Leonard Bernstein. He sat down at the podium and talked to us about his children. The music was Mozart, Stravinsky “The Rite of Spring.” More drums! The first ballet I saw was Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.” How colorful!
—Anne Fauvell
